"One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love". That quote is attributed to the Greek philosopher, Sophocles, and while it may be true in some cases, this is not true in Romeo and Juliet. As evidenced in Romeo and Juliet, by the Immortal Bard, William Shakespeare, Mercutio, Juliet, and Romeo all have different views on love, which influences their decisions. Mercutio does not believe in love for himself, but he does believe in carnal desire; Juliet believes in love but not marriage until she meets Romeo; and Romeo believes love is a horse – the minute you fall off, you get right back on.
Mercutio has a playful view of love. For example, before they go to the party, Romeo …show more content…
For instance, Benvolio asks, “ It was. What sadness lengthens Romeo’s hours?” (I.i.168), Romeo answers, “Not having that which makes them short.” (I.i.169). Being one of Romeo’s first lines, this reveals a lot about his character. Romeo is constantly being overtly dramatic in terms of love. In addition, when referring to why he must carry the light, Romeo says, “I am too sore empierced with his shaft / to soar with his light feathers”(I.i.19-20). Romeo refuses to dance due to his pain. The irony in that is that, at the party, he will find a new love and forget about Rosaline. Finally, when first seeing Juliet at the party, Romeo says, “Did my heart love til now? Foreswear it sight, / For I ne’er saw true beauty til this night” (I.v.59-60). Romeo, after only going to the party to see Rosaline, falls in love with Juliet, showing his character trait of being willy-nilly with his love. It is this sequence that starts the problems in this play because had Romeo never commented on Juliet, Tybalt would have no reason to kill Mercutio and get Romeo banished after Romeo’s revenge. It is Romeo’s over-the-top love that causes a lot of the problems in the